The Hidden Threat The Royal Naval Minesweeping Reserve in WWI.epub

Author(s): Jim Crossley
Publisher:
Date: 2011-10 Format: EPUB Language: English ISBN/ASIN: 1848842724
Pages: 168 OCR: Quality: ISBN13: 9781848842724


It is not widely remembered that mines were by far the most effective weapon deployed against the British Royal Navy in WW1, costing them 5 battleships, 3 cruisers, 22 destroyers, 4 submarines and a host of other vessels. They were in the main combated by a civilian force using fishing boats and paddle steamers recruited from holiday resorts. This unlikely armada saved the day for Britain and her allies. After 1916, submarine attacks on merchant ships became an even more serious threat to Allied communications but submarines were far less damaging to British warships than mines.